It's back: The Dreger rink ready to go for November launch

With some help from Mother Nature and the constant boost from my refrigeration system, we will be skating on our backyard rink in November for the first time EVER.

Monday was a full work day. The liner was put down, the mat was plumbed and installed and the chiller unit was fired up for the first time this season.

To build up the first layer of ice, I flooded multiple times on Day 1 - using a light spray to ensure each flood was completely freezing before repeating the process.

Tuesday - for professional reasons beyond my control - was a write-off. But in between calls, texts and emails, we attacked the rink on Wednesday to bring the ice up to a nice base and ready for more aggressive flooding.

Hampered by a head cold, I sneezed and wheezed my way through a few more floods late Wednesday night to make sure I would be on schedule to kick in to the finishing stage on Thursday.

Now this stage requires some serious manual labour. It includes surrounding the rink frame with another run of 2 x 10's before installing the 4 x 8 boards below the netting in what has been transformed over the years into the "shooting zone."

Once the boards have been installed, the flooding will resume - using mostly hot water to melt away imperfections. I will shave the problem areas with a heavy, razor-sharp scraper in between the hot-floods to give it a game ready finish.

I'm not going to lie, this has been a tough week. But working outdoors and watching how quickly the rink now comes together definitely has its therapeutic benefits.